


The Heraea

by Kastaka



Category: The Mask of Apollo - Mary Renault
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25355287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kastaka/pseuds/Kastaka
Summary: Aside from the obvious, the play was reasonably well-structured, although it wandered a little from convention towards the end.
Relationships: Axiothea/Lasthenia (Mask of Apollo)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2
Collections: Juletide 2020





	The Heraea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fawatson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawatson/gifts).



"I dislike to correct a poet in their work," I said, foolishly, "but would the theme not be better served with Athene?"

Axiothea gave me the scathing look that I absolutely deserved.

"The Heraea," she explained kindly, "is run in honour of Hera. What other goddess would dare intrude?"

"And there's also… the chiton."

"If all your actors are too precious about their manly breasts, find a pair of young extras; a young boy is much the same as a young girl at that age, I can assure you. With good enough hair, your critics will be claiming you put girls on the stage as well as putting girls on the stage."

To some extent, I was still hoping she would get tired of my picking at the play and find someone else to put it on. I had, in fact, offered to introduce her to Theodorus; but she was rather scathing about the notion, although she allowed that he may be an excellent second actor if he could be persuaded.

"He would portray me as fully woman," she insisted. "Of all the actors, you are the only one I trust to portray me as I am."

I had attempted to warn her of the terrible hubris of requesting a portrayal while not safely long dead, of the increased attention perhaps rebounding on the Academy itself, but it was clear to both of us that the events of her life would be rather different if she had been one to take warnings, especially those which insisted on modesty.

It took some considerable convincing to acquire Theodorus, in the midst of a successful protagonist career, as second actor. I had to pledge my own services as second for some time thereafter, and the lion's share of the revenues; not that revenue was my motivation, so this was reasonably agreeable. (In truth, I was unsure there would be revenue at all once we had paid damages for the consequences of this endeavour, or if we would even get through the entire play without being pelted from the stage.)

With extras for the silent athletes in the prologue, the third actor had only one scene: that of Axiothea's father, with the burning of the books and the beatings, before she was spirited away by his brother. I disliked to burden anyone's career with it, until Anthemion unexpectedly presented himself for the role.

He had not been pursuing a theatrical career since parting ways with Anaxis, instead having set up a small mercantile endeavour, but he still crossed paths with Theodorus from time to time and it appeared there was no shortage of gossip regarding what we were about. He confessed to missing the theatre, and no other company would have taken him on, but he even volunteered to shave his breast to run the protagonist part in the prologue.

Aside from the obvious, the play was reasonably well-structured, although it wandered a little from convention towards the end. The prologue from Hera was quite standard, over the silent action of the girls' race; the first true scene was properly the busiest and full of action; but the only death was the father, off screen before the third, and the 'mourning' was perfunctory and mostly occupied by a discussion of the relative merits of Phaedo and Plato. 

Then the fourth scene with Plato's interview and the dramatic reveal was the true climax of the play, with the final scene more suited to a comedy, if it had not been vitally important that we play it with complete sincerity - the meeting with and courting of Lasthenia.

I did manage to persuade Axiothea to rather shorten some of the longer and more abstruse philosophical passages, which would have sent the audience quite to sleep, regardless of the controversy; but I kept a few in for dampening their passions.

The stage is set; we have found a tall youth to match Anthemion, both to be dwarfed by the skene and my turn as Hera on the god-walk; Theodorus is possibly the only actor I would trust to pull off the change from Plato to Lasthenia. 

The play's the thing; how the audience reacts, how the city reacts, are in the hands of the gods.


End file.
